Jeff Jackson drops out of North Carolina Senate race

Democrat Jeff Jackson dropped out of the North Carolina Senate race on Thursday, endorsing his primary opponent, former state Supreme Court Justice Cheri Beasley.

"Pat McCrory and Ted Budd are gearing up to spend millions of dollars attacking each other in order to be the Republican nominee. If we're going to flip this seat, we can't do that," Jackson said in a video released on Thursday morning. "A costly and divisive primary will sink this whole thing. We need to unite right now and we need to unite behind Cheri."

"We all saw what happened with the election in Virginia last month. We are headed into a tough one," he added, citing Democrats' loss in the blue-leaning state last November.

Jackson, a state senator who faced a difficult primary in which he trailed in fundraising, called donors to inform them of his decision on Wednesday, according to three people familiar with those calls. POLITICO reported Jackson's plans to drop out on Wednesday evening.

Jackson was elected to two terms in the state Senate before launching his first statewide campaign earlier this year. But Beasley, his most prominent rival, has already run and won statewide. Last week, Beasley was endorsed by Reps. G.K. Butterfield and David Price, two of North Carolina's five Democratic members of Congress.

Several Republicans are also vying for their party's nomination for the open Senate seat currently held by retiring GOP Sen. Richard Burr. The most prominent GOP candidates are former Gov. Pat McCrory and Rep. Ted Budd (R-N.C.), who has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump.

Michael Kruse contributed to this report.

CORRECTION: Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this report misstated the day that one person said Jackson could leave the race. The source said Jackson could exit the primary as soon as Thursday.